Scotland has set a record for the number of newly recorded cases of covid-19 for the second time in the space of 48 hours.
The 3,887 infections registered with Public Health Scotland on Wednesday surpassed the previous milestone of 3,285 set on Monday - despite the test positivity rate dropping by three per cent.
Over 840 cases were recorded in the NHS Lothian health board area, according to the latest figures, with 509 of those coming in Edinburgh.
It puts the Capital slightly clear of Glasgow as Scotland’s worst hit local authority. East and West Lothian meanwhile recorded more than 100 cases each, with Midlothian only slightly behind on 87.
It means Scotland is now reporting case numbers vastly surpassing the second wave peak earlier in the year as the country grapples with the rapidly spreading ‘delta variant’.
The latest figures come as a Scottish Government report found that 397 Scottish fans who attended the Euro 2020 clash with England at Wembley on June 18 had Covid-19 at the time of the game.
The Scottish Government analysed Test and Protect data to study the link between the tournament finals - which have been played across the continent - and a huge surge in Covid cases among young men.
Glasgow hosted its final match of the competition on Tuesday evening, withe Ukraine defeating Sweden after extra time.
A survey of the data uncovered that, between the 11 and 28 June 2021, 1,991 Scots were identified as having attended one or more Euro 2020 events while they were infectious.
They were later tracked to have attended a match at either Hampden Park, Wembley, the Fanzone at Glasgow Green, or pub or house gathering.
There are currently 235 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus with 19 being treated in intensive care.
A further three people have passed away due to the illness, according to the latest figures.
However the vaccine rollout has continued to gather pace, with 3,799,467 people having received the first dose of vaccination and 2,712,237 getting their second.
